Greedy insurance companies have finally succeeded in watering down a vital new compensation scheme for workers suffering deadly asbestos-related mesothelioma, MPs protested yesterday.

Labour MPs welcomed the scheme, which starts in July, but complained that insurance companies had banked £1 billion as a result of the weak government stance on asbestos compensation.

Work and Pensions Minister Mike Penning led Tory and Lib Dem MPs into the voting lobbies on Tuesday night to squash last-ditch Labour amendments demanding improvements to the scheme.

Left MP Ian Lavery saw red when the minister pleaded that insurance companies "did not come happily to the table" to discuss asbestos compensation.

The minister confessed that "the negotiations were based on what we could get agreement on without putting a further burden on business."

Mr Lavery retorted that the insurance companies were "awash" with cash. He denounced the "absolutely scandalous" deals between the government and its friends in the insurance industry.

He said Lloyd's had made £2.7 billion between January and June 2012, while Aviva had scooped in £605 million in the first six months of 2013.

Blaydon MP David Anderson declared that insurance companies had spent decades bankrolling Prime Minister David Cameron and the Tory Party.

Mr Anderson read out heart-rending statements from the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum.

A woman from Eltham said: "My husband was murdered. His name was Alan. My husband died aged 58 because he went to work every day in places riddled with asbestos."

Ms Bell from Telford stated: "My husband died within two months of diagnosis of mesothelioma. He was a strong, healthy man brought down to a weak, skeletal figure in that short time."

The new scheme, backdated to July 2012, will cover cases where former employers have gone out of business by the time workers are diagnosed with mesothelioma.

It passed its final Commons stages on Tuesday night.

Some Labour MPs unsuccessfully demanded an increase in payouts from 75 per cent of civil compensation levels to 100 per cent. The government also squashed demands that the scheme should be backdated to February 2010.

Up to 28,000 people are likely to die from the disease by 2024, the expected end date for the scheme.